Connecticut ready to vote in all communities, secretary of state says

HARTFORD -- Sec. of the State Denise Merrill declared Connecticut ready to vote on Tuesday with power restored to polling places and more than 201,000 new voters on the roles.

She predicted a 75 percent to 80 percent turnout that could match or come close to the 78 percent turnout for the 2008 presidential election. The high number of new voters was more than her office anticipated.

Merrill said hurrican turned "Super Storm" Sandy last week does not seem to have made an impact on the ability to vote.

"It's a very critical election," Merrill said as she thanked the utility companies for their hard work to bring power back to all but two of the 773 voting precincts.

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One of the two is located in Bridgeport and the other in New London and substitute polling sites have been designated by the cities.

"What I feel is very thankful," Merrill said to the registrars of voters and town clerks who stepped up to make sure the election will go smoothly.

"The public is still very much interested in this election," she said at a Monday morning update on Connecticut's readiness.

This year, as part of new legislation, Merrill said they are working with the Connecticut Bar Association where more than 100 lawyers have volunteered to be on call in the event there are disputes at the polls.

Merrill asked that superintendents of schools keep schools closed in their district if that was their original plan to accommodate a polling place.

With a high turnout expected for the presidential election "you could literally have thousands of people coming into those schools . So holding school while the building is being used as a high traffic polling place is not ideal."

There are now a total of 2,089,311 active registered voters in Connecticut including 767,693 Democrats, 430,439 Republicans and 872,243 unaffiliated voters. Among the new voters, some 70,928 registered as Democrats and 33,067 registered Republicans, while 92,592 are unaffiliated.

There is a hotline open to the public to report complaints: 1-866-733-2463, which will be monitored by Merrill's office as well as by the State Election Enforcement Commission and federal officials if need be.

"We will have zero tolerance in Connecticut for either voter fraud or voter intimidation at the polls," Merrill said.

The secretary said it is a good idea to bring an ID to the polls with a driver's license the ideal piece of identification. She said a bank statement, pay stub or Social Security card are also acceptable for those who are registered.

If you are eligible to vote but have not registered, citizens can go to the town clerk's office in their town to get a ballot to vote only for president.

The secretary now has authority to enter all polling places to make sure the laws are being followed, something they first used in the Bridgeport primary in 2011. "It's an effective way to trouble-shoot problems before they got out of hand," she said.

"We have found that it is very useful to have eyes and ears on the ground," she said. To supplement her small staff, more than 100 attorneys have been trained to be observers, if necessary. They can only go if sent by Merrill.

The deciding authority at each poll is the moderator.

"The right to vote is a fundamental right to a democratic society," said Kimberly Knox, the Connecticut Bar Association president elect. "We want everyone to know that their vote is important."